• Reviewing My 2022 Beauty Expenses

    August 29, 2023

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m reviewing my beauty expenses for 2022. I know we’re more than half way through 2023, but I realized that I forgot to do last year’s beauty expenses.

    Check out my previous beauty expenses posts:

    2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021

    My 2019 Beauty Budget

    Categories201720182019202020212022TOTAL SPENT (from 2017-22)
    Makeup130016001100702506504970
    Miscellaneous250––16030400840
    Skincare450500700230905502520
    Total20002100180046037016008330
    Planned Purchases21%50%70%85%78%40%–
    Impulse Purchases79%50%30%15%22%60%–

    As you can see from the graphs, I started spending money on beauty products again. There was a significant decrease in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID. The majority of the skincare purchases were the Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser. I’ve been lucky enough to receive skincare products to review. So I haven’t bought many skincare products for my face, but somehow I spent $550 on things like hand cream, body scrubs and pimple patches.

    My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2022:

    1. Sephora Collection PRO 8-piece Brush Set – $92.80
    2. Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize Cream Eyeshadow Trio – $70.20
    3. Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (Value size) – $52
    4. Uoma Beauty Say What?! Foundation – $50
    5. Youth to the People Dream Eye Cream with Vitamin C and Ceramides – $49.60
    6. Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette – $48.80

    After seeing how much I spent last year on makeup and skincare, I’m actually quite surprised. It didn’t feel like I spent that much on beauty products. Since we’re in August 2023, I can say that I’ve actually tried my 6 most expensive purchases and I like all of them. I think I’m starting to prefer powder or cream foundations though, so I probably wouldn’t repurchase the Uoma foundation. I like all of the other products though. I haven’t opened the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm, but I’ve used it in the past. I really like the Sephora Collection PRO brushes. They’re so soft and fluffy. The ABH eyeshadow palette is a classic, I still need to use it more. I haven’t used the Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize shadows as much as I’d like. I chose more smokey shades and I’ve mostly been going out during the day and prefer to do a natural eye look in the morning.

    I’m interested to see my beauty expenses for this year. I think I’ve bought more clothes than beauty products, but we’ll see what happens in the next few months when the Sephora sale and Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales come around lol.

    Love,

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  • Haul | November 2022 Sephora VIB Sale

    November 23, 2022

    Hi Everyone!

    I know it’s a bit late, but I’m sharing what I bought from the Sephora Holiday Sale!

    I picked up a few things in store on the first day:

    Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette – I know I’m super slow to buy this, but I’ve been debating which eyeshadow I wanted to get for years. I finally decided to get this one.

    TULA Prime of Your Life Smoothing & Firming Treatment Primer (check out my TULA Hits & Misses post)

    First Aid KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub with 10% AHA

    Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Custom Finish Powder Foundation (left – 220 Linen, right – 250 Sand)

    And I ordered more online after browsing:

    Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Custom Finish Powder Foundation in 250 Sand – I bought the shade 220 Linen for my mom during a sale last year. She hadn’t started using it until recently. She realized it was too light for her so she gave it to me and asked me to order a darker shade. So I chose 250 Sand. Comparing the two, 250 Sand looks lighter than 220 Linen – 220 Linen looks more orange. So I ended up returning 250 Sand and getting 310 Silk which looks a bit darker.

    Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm Makeup Remover (variety size – 200mL)

    Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau De Parfum – I wanted to try a new perfume and I sprayed this one in person when I went to the store. Apparently I wasn’t paying attention because I sprayed the Eau de Toilette in the store. There was barely anything left in the bottle, so I didn’t notice the colour was different. I don’t know why, but I didn’t spray it on me and just decided to purchase it. This was a mistake lol. The Eau de Parfum is too sweet for my liking. It gave me a headache. I went back to the store and sprayed the Eau de Toilette, but it was a bit too powdery for my liking. I actually preferred the Gucci Bloom one, but I’m going to keep browsing until I make a decision.

    2 x Morphe Highlight & Contour Beauty Sponges 

    What did you pick up during the sale?

    Love,

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  • june 2022 makeup inventory

    My Makeup Inventory | June 2022

    June 7, 2022

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I have an updated makeup inventory list. These posts are more for me to track what products I have/had at a given time. The items in BOLD are unopened/barely used.

    Primers: 3

    • Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water
    • Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water
    • Pixi +C Vit Brightening Perfector*

    Foundations: 3

    • Maybelline Shine-Free + Balance Stick Foundation in Classic Ivory
    • Maybelline Shine-Free + Balance Stick Foundation in Natural Beige
    • Uoma Beauty Say What?! Foundation in Fair Lady T2N

    Concealers: 2

    • Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer in SC-2: Fair To Light Skin Tones
    • Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Neutralizer

    Powders: 3

    • Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
    • Becca Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder (mini)
    • Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder in Translucent

    Blushes/Highlighters/Bronzers: 10

    • Bare Minerals Gen Nude Powder Blush in That Peach Tho
    • Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Base
    • Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in 2 Fair
    • Honest Beauty Crème Cheek Blush in Rose Pink
    • Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek (mini) in Werk
    • Burt’s Bees The Luminizer in 1906 Starlight*
    • Milani Strobelight Instant Glow Powder in Afterglow
    • Wet N Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder in Blossom Glow
    • Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light
    • Pixi Summer Glow Palette*

    Brows: 3

    • Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ebony
    • Maybelline Brow Fast Sculpt, Mascara for Brows in Clear
    • Uoma Beauty Brow-Fro Blow Out Volumizing Gel in 6

    Eyeshadows: 6

    • Anastasia Beverly Hills Single in Intense Gaze
    • Anastasia Beverly Hills Single in Rosette
    • Anastasia Beverly Hills Single in Sunset
    • Catrice Self Made Bae Palette*
    • Charlotte Tilbury Easy Eye Palette
    • Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Single in Half Baked

    Eyeliners: 3

    • Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner in 116 White
    • MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil: Eye, Lip & Brow Pencil 502 Infinite Sand
    • MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil: Eye, Lip & Brow Pencil in 100 Whatever Black

    Mascara: 2

    • L’Oreal Bambi Eye Original Mascara in 407 Extra Noir*
    • L’Oreal Bambi Eye Original Mascara in 400 Blackest Black*

    Lips: 5

    • Burt’s Bees Moisturizing Lip Balm in Tropical Pineappple*
    • Giorgio Armani Rouge Ecstasy Lipstick in 400
    • L’Oreal Colour Riche Les Nus Intense Nude Lipstick in 173*
    • L’Oreal Rouge Signature Matte Lipstick in I Create 416
    • elf Glossy Lip Stain in Fiery Red*

    TOTAL NUMBER OF ITEMS: 40

    I have quite a few items that I bought last year, but still haven’t opened yet. From the ones I’ve tried so far, I would probably repurchase the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer and the L’oreal Rouge Signature Matte Lipstick.

    Products marked with * were sent to me.

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  • April 2021 empties

    April 2021 Product Empties

    May 3, 2021

    Hi Everyone!

    Jouer Essential Lip Enhancer Balm – I’m not usually a fan of rose-scented products, but this one wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t overly sticky and it kept my lips moisturized for hours.

    Repurchase? Maybe.

    Jouer Essential Hydrating Lip Oil – I started out liking this lip oil because it kept my lips hydrated for a couple hours, but the outside started getting sticky because the oil is so runny.

    Repurchase? No.

    Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara – I bought one of those Sephora Favourites mascara kits with travel-sized mascaras and a coupon to redeem a full size. I redeemed this back in 2019 and never got a chance to use it. Unfortunately, it dried up a bit and I had to declutter it.

    Repurchase? Maybe. I enjoyed this mascara, but it is quite expensive.

    Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel – This brow gel was good. It kept the brows in place, but it did feel a little stiff/crunchy. I didn’t really like the size of the brush because it was huge. I would prefer a smaller brush (like the ones they have for their tinted brow gels).

    Repurchase? Maybe.

    eos Organic Lip Balm Sphere in Vanilla Bean* – This lip balm irritated my lips and it’s not the first time this has happened. In the past, I tried these lip balm spheres and the same thing happened. I decided to try it out again because that was a while back, but they irritated my lips again. My lips felt super dry. I’ve seen some people talk about having an allergic reaction to this where their lips got blistered and crusty from using this balm. I stopped using before it could get to that point, but it did take a while before my lips felt smooth again. I would rather just stick to vaseline.

    Repurchase? Absolutely not.

    L’Oréal Revitalift Fragrance-Free Moisturizer* – I enjoyed this cream. It wasn’t too thick, but it kept my dry skin moisturized throughout the day. I do prefer serums/creams that come with a pump instead of a pot so I don’t know if I would repurchase this one. Especially since it’s on the more expensive side for a drugstore product.

    Repurchase? Probably not.

    Cerave Moisturizing Cream – I started using this in mid-January and I’ve already finished two tubes (2x57g) and a tub (539g). I kept a tube beside my desk during the day and I use the tub after showering. I have found that when I moisturize my body with it and then put clothes on, it can transfer onto your clothes. A few times, I’ve worn a black shirt and it had white on it (similar to getting deodorant on your shirt). It has been great during the winter. My skin hasn’t felt dry at all.

    Repurchase? Absolutely.

    What did you finish in April?

    Love,

    Products marked with (*) were gifted.

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